PDA

View Full Version : Do you name your weapon?



SolkaTruesilver
2007-04-07, 11:16 AM
In popular fantasy setting, powerful magic weapons get named by their possessors. Have you ever named your own magic weapon, of kept talking about it as "My +4 Keen Short Sword"?

Same question, different twist. Once, the party's barbarian found a Sunblade wayyyyy too early levelwise (lucky dices to kill a BBEG (4 crits in a row)), we decided to nickname him "Garund Sunbearer".

Ever gave a nickname to your character because of something happening in-game?

Dervag
2007-04-07, 11:25 AM
Well, I once read in another website about Sir Cedric the Womanizer...

Gungnir
2007-04-07, 11:26 AM
My character is actually counting on the campaign to get a nickname. He's trying to make a legend out of himself, and has discarded his surname until performs a deed worthy of naming himself after.

But he hasn't named his sword.

Threeshades
2007-04-07, 11:27 AM
i wanted to name all of my weapons since we started a new campaign last year but i couldnt come up with a name

Emperor Demonking
2007-04-07, 11:28 AM
Naming my weapon or not is dependant on the character, but none of my characters have got a nickname.

KIDS
2007-04-07, 11:30 AM
My characters sometimes name their weapons, more likely if they are characters with divine connection of some sort (cleric, paladin, etc) or it fits their backstory.
My elves never name their weapons, though. For them, it's pointless to establish any relation other than a "tool" with a lifeless piece of metal (except for an intelligent item ofc.)

Elven Paladin
2007-04-07, 11:32 AM
I often try to name my weapons but just as often I can't think of any. One character of mine who did have a named weapon was a fighter by the name of Valden Darkhelm who wielded a Bastard sword that was simply known as the Lifedrinker. He was a warrior who had betrayed his king in the war that had preceded the campaign so everyone in my group simply called him The Traitor. ...in fact, that's what he was referred into in the game as well.

When thinking of characters with nickname, I also remember a Wookie Jedi I once played in a Star Wars game. He fell to the dark side in order to get his revenge against a Sith lord, and so came to be dubbed "Emo Wookie."

El Jaspero, the Pirate King
2007-04-07, 11:43 AM
I like naming weapons, it makes the game more personal. My rogue in our previous campaign had a corrosive shortsword he named Scornblade after taking it off the dead body of the assassin (Ren Scorn) who'd been sent to kill him, hehe.

I also had an Arcana Evolved Champion of Knowledge with an intelligent dire bastard sword named Bloodgutter. It had the vicious property, which he could switch on or off, but against its favored enemies he had to win a Charisma check or it'd activate itself, hehe. Good ol' Bloodgutter.

Shiny, Bearer of the Pokystick
2007-04-07, 11:58 AM
Sure- but I usually keep the name even if the weapon changes (i.e. all rapiers wielded by Sir Celtigran the Saucy are 'Fancypants').

Kel_Arath
2007-04-07, 12:04 PM
my char got the nickname "non-stick" for two reasons, 1) his last name sounded like teflon (telfalon), and 2) he had a habit of getting out of sticky situations no body thought he could

storybookknight
2007-04-07, 12:05 PM
My current Paladin, Owyn Brassleaf, has a rapier named Wit.

Tach13
2007-04-07, 01:21 PM
LoL, StorybookKnight beat me to it, I've got a Rogue with a Flaming Rapier named Jauhar's Wit, where Jauhar is the local name for Olidammara. Working on getting an off hand weapon worthy of a name still.

The Great Skenardo
2007-04-07, 01:27 PM
Isn't there a story about a Monk who named his weapons?

"Meet my friends Knuckles and Chuckles. Spread the word, y'dig?"

Altairius
2007-04-07, 01:44 PM
I only occasionally name weapons and armors, but when I do, it seems to stick to the character really well. Fr' instance, in my last Ebberon game I played a Warforged rogue/fighter named Siggmund. He had done his share of killing during the War, and quite frankly was tired of it. So, when he managed to get his hands on a +1 Shocking Greatsword (his weapon of choice), he had the Merciful modifier enchanted on. He called it "The Rehabilitator".

Later, he kept adding modifiers and enhancements to it until it became "The Peacemaker".

If I get a chance, I'd like to use it as a weapon of legacy somewhere...

daggaz
2007-04-07, 01:52 PM
My dwarven cleric named his hammer 'Marie.' But it's not even his weapon, its just a hammer from the goods list he bought for busting locks and driving rock pitons in. His weapon is a dwarven waraxe, with no name.

IonizedChicken
2007-04-07, 01:56 PM
Almost always, yes. I feel it really adds to my character.
Not only do I name weapons, I also name armor and shields and often describe both in a non-standard way. For example, one of my characters used the 'Double Crescents' -- diamond-sharp crescent blades that circled around him, defended him, attacked others, and communicated with him telepathically (though he couldn't understand what they said -- they only talked in unintelligible whispers. He suspected there was a soul trapped in them).
Mechanically, the 'Double Crescents' were just an Animated, heavy shield.

A more specific example of naming was Shadow's Hope, a Greataxe +something. It wasn't unholy but I described it as such anyway.

Krimm_Blackleaf
2007-04-07, 01:59 PM
I don't usually name the weapons of characters I just make for fun, but I realise that the characters I make AND play never actually use weapons that they don't invoke from the powers of the arcane. Maybe I ought to name my warlock's eldritch blast 'blasty'.

the_tick_rules
2007-04-07, 02:12 PM
not really, maybe once i get some better weapons.

Latronis
2007-04-07, 02:14 PM
Yep

often using dead languages to do so.

Though sometimes i use lame cliche names too especially for majorNPC weapons and especially so if its a not a stictly legal weapon

like a favoured soul\monk summoning

The Staff of the Heavens

a kifocus shocking burst thundering brilliant energy quaterstaff of speed

>_<

Little_Rudo
2007-04-07, 02:19 PM
My current Paladin, Owyn Brassleaf, has a rapier named Wit.


LoL, StorybookKnight beat me to it, I've got a Rogue with a Flaming Rapier named Jauhar's Wit, where Jauhar is the local name for Olidammara. Working on getting an off hand weapon worthy of a name still.

Ironically, a third Wit... my bard has a rapier named Cutting Wit. :smallbiggrin:

Nerd-o-rama
2007-04-07, 02:24 PM
Mine has a name, too.

I call 'er Vera.

Strengfellow
2007-04-07, 02:30 PM
I once had a lucerne hammer which I named Yakob the tortle hammer, the reason for this is lost to me.

Although one of my party always named his knife Hinif because of how the DM's writeing made knife look like hinif, he even had his Hinif enchanted so he could always cut a roast perfectly.

levi
2007-04-07, 03:52 PM
I tend to name magical weapons, especially if they've got more than just plusses. Sometimes I name non-magical weapons, but it depends on the character's style. I've never named other sorts of equipment as a PC, but I've done so when building NPCs or treasures.

My current character is a divine warlock (warlock cruch, holy fluff) that sees herself as a paladin. She renamed all of her invocations and her eldritch blast to fit into the theme. Her weapon dosn't have a name, but it's just a generic dagger and she hardly ever uses it. If she does, it's as a "righteous smite" (hideous blow), so the damage from the dagger itself isn't very important.

Maroon
2007-04-07, 04:07 PM
Apart from 'pointy stick' and 'blood-coated piece of hurt', not really. Although a friend has a huge-sized heavy crossbow I call Piecemaker, after the crossbow wielded by Detritus in the Discworld novels.

MisterSaturnine
2007-04-07, 04:10 PM
My Bard's mandolin is named Lucy. He's partial to caressing it...

He and his mandolin have an interesting relationship.

Epiphanis
2007-04-07, 04:27 PM
I've never named a weapon for one of my PCs in D&D, though as a DM I've named a few.

Years ago, playing the Iron Crown Middle Earth Roleplaying Game, I played an elf who named his sword Celebereg, which was to show off my geeky fluency in elvish. (It means "Silver Thorn").

Orzel
2007-04-07, 04:31 PM
A monk/cleric of mine had a mace called the Bottle Opener and a hammer called the Great Book.

Lolzords
2007-04-07, 04:33 PM
Ever gave a nickname to your character because of something happening in-game?

My friend has. He calls his half orc barbarian "Big Bad Frosty" since this man is known for slaughtering random things and doing HUGE damage.

Incidentally, somehow, Big Bad Frosty is now a god who has his own plane of existance. Go figure.

Aramil Liadon
2007-04-07, 05:02 PM
Never. I generally play characters without lasting weapons. The tragedy is just too much to throw a vial of Holy Alice at the ghoul. Perhaps my swashbuckler, when I get to play him, but as of yet, low-level spellcasters make up all of my characters. I guess a first level druid could name his weapons in Sylvan, though. Might be interesting.

adanedhel9
2007-04-07, 05:19 PM
Most of my characters see their weapons as tools, not extensions of self. So, no reason to explicitly name them. If they pick up a nickname, sure (one character had a flaming longsword named 'Fluffy', because I forgot to specify an activation word when I took it to be inchanted), but otherwise it's not a big priority.

When I DM, however, there's a PrC in my campaign world that works like a more generalized Shining Blade of Hieroneous. NPCs with that PrC nearly always name their weapons, exactly because their weapons become extensions of self and deity.

Character nicknames happen all the time, but it's almost never explicit. Though I had one character who liked to give out nicknames to party members based on their abilities, e.g. the scout became 'Eyes'.

Muz
2007-04-07, 06:09 PM
A PC in the party I DM has a lowish charisma but is quite the swordstress, and as such isn't the most persuasive when using the spoken word and occasionally has to resort to blades to get her point across. An NPC she travelled with once (who was much with the "intelligence is far more powerful than a blade") rather disdainfully told her something to the point of "Well you've never been terribly persuasive. With the spoken word, anyway." She'd recently come across a +2 longsword that was her favored weapon just then. She named it Persuader just to irritate him. :smallsmile:

The_Blue_Sorceress
2007-04-07, 09:57 PM
When appropriate, and sometimes when innapropriate. I had a CN bard who named her rapier, "York" for no other reason that "it sounded funny." I've also received named weapons in games, most notably The Champion at the Gates, an CE intelligent vicious frost bastard sword, wielded by a female fighter/berserker (NG, low Int) who, despite her low Wis, managed to hold it at bay until she failed a will save while berserking with it and slaughtered the party cleric. As for nicknames, I had a paladin in the same setting as the fighter/berserker, who went from being "Aurelius of the Athanjal" to being "Aurelius the Fallen" after getting booted from the Athanjal for accidentally getting some of the noblemen warriors that were under his command killed, to being "Aurelius the Radiant" after picking up a couple of Exalted feats notably Nimbus of Light, back to being Aurelius the Fallen again after he broke his vows to save the world. He had a career. I also had a D20 modern/urban arcana mage who was called "Sparky."

-Blue

levi
2007-04-07, 10:12 PM
Speaking of nicknames for PCs, the latest member of my current party has taken to calling the other paladin (who's actually a Paladin, unlike mine), "Shiny".

Quietus
2007-04-07, 10:46 PM
I have two characters with named weapons. One is an intelligent katana taken from an elf now dead, whose name I fail to remember right now. The other is named "Wyrmsplinter" :

Huge +5 Flaming Burst Dragonbane Impact (variation on keen) Ghost Touch Greatclub.

Weilded by a large-sized three-quarter dragon (human, large size, half dragon stats). He's a mix of red (1/2) and gold (1/4) blood. The weapon itself is made from the bones of a red dragon he killed - the shaft is a single thighbone, while the head is the dragon's skull itself. When Rojoro scores a critical hit with Wyrmplinter, the Flaming Burst quality flares up, and the mouth of the skull opens to blast the target with the jet of flame that does the extra damage.

Aramil Liadon
2007-04-07, 11:53 PM
That is just too cool. I hate you and all your creative brethren.

NecroPaladin
2007-04-07, 11:59 PM
A LOOOONG time back, I had a double scythe named "Wave Reaper."

Now I gots a warhammer named "Judge," a set of bolts named "Jury," and a crossbow named "Executioner."

Wooter
2007-04-08, 12:00 AM
I don't actually play D&D... I'd like to, though.

Anyway when I join a game, and I get a powerful weapon, I'll name it Reason, as a reference to Snow Crash.

Other PC: Damnit, why won't these goblins leave us alone? We've done nothing to them!

Me: I'm sure they'll listen to Reason. *Ka-Stab!*

Also, if I had Flaming weapon, I'd name it Johnny, and the activation phrase would simply be "Flame On!"

RoboticSheeple
2007-04-08, 12:13 AM
I played a hafling that named his "weapon" the "grand pink long spear"

Viscount Einstrauss
2007-04-08, 12:18 AM
I always name my weapons. Always. Even if I'm in a hurry and can only call them things like "Pointy" or "Killy", I do so.

Lucid_Archon
2007-04-08, 12:39 AM
I love to name my weapons, but they always end up with terrible names like, "Frostillicus" or "Henry, Stabber of Things." I suck at names.

Kalirren
2007-04-08, 01:29 AM
The character whom my avatar reflects is now a lich. Way back in 3rd level she and the party gangbanged a +1 Scimitar off of a pirate captain's first mate (we were playing the Freeport Trilogy).

She still carries this +1 Scimitar, which she has never bothered to get further enchanted, which she calls the First Mate.

The_Werebear
2007-04-08, 01:47 AM
Only if it fits with the character

A dervish I had wielded a +1 flaming Scimitar named Wraithsblade.

A dwarven bounty hunter refered to any weapon he wielded as his "negotiator"

Quietus
2007-04-08, 03:24 AM
That is just too cool. I hate you and all your creative brethren.

Thank you - that's far from the most creative thing we've had happened, but I do admit, I'm quite proud of Rojoro. His whole family tree is filled with PC's, go figure.

Latronis
2007-04-08, 07:01 AM
A dwarven bounty hunter refered to any weapon he wielded as his "negotiator"

heh i had a ranger\rogue who filled a similiar role who called his favoured weapon The Interrogator.

Then there was Jewel-Eye a svirfneblin bard with a set of daggers he refered to as Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Fawsto
2007-04-08, 12:52 PM
My Paladin's scythe (well, it is a dire pick... but I always say that it is a scythe) is called Thanathos. Mostly Beacause his PrC is Kensai. I almost found it an obligation to name his weapon.

Well... It suit's well a Paladin who wears a Black Spiked Fullplate, a Dark Tower Shield and has a Helmet with big Black Dragon horns. He is still Lawful Good, he just like's to use the darkness to create fear in the dark ones. Like Batman. :smalltongue:

And my friend's Dwarf always call his greatclub "Brutie"... Well at least Brutie smashed a few heads...

Dragor
2007-04-08, 12:59 PM
I try to name my weapons and give nicknames to my characters as much as possible, it makes the game feels more realistic.

My Lawful Evil Knight's Longsword is called: 'Dark Fortune' (his first weapon, therefore a ill tiding for the rest of the word)

The parallel Lawful Good Knight's Longsword is called: 'Riftkeeper' (after her second title. In our campaign by our DM, she is destined to seal the rift which is letting demons into the world)

Our resident Warmage in the party had an intelligent katana. I called it 'Chatty' because of its irritating personality. Needless to say, my Dwarf was not impressed- rivalry ensued.

Innis Cabal
2007-04-08, 01:18 PM
only sometimes, it depends on the type of characer i play, as of now my crusader in the spelljammer game my buddy is running has a broad sword known as Ascendent Dusk, and a mace called Wolves Fang

The Gilded Duke
2007-04-08, 04:21 PM
In an Unknown Armies game running the adventure "To Go" my character renamed the BBEG.

In To Go you race across America vs. the Queen of Mcdonalds, Durmott Arcane and Deon Issacs to try and capture magical kundulini charges of America that have been distributed in hamburgers.

Durmott Arcane is an avatar of the messanger. He gains power through fitting closley with the idea of the messanger. If he gains enough of the kundulini charges he might ascend to become a God. If he does, the vision of the messanger will change to become "The Heisenberg Messenger", messages as entertainment and diversion.

Anyway, because he decided to enslave his children as magical shields are party wanted to take him down and prevent him from becomming a god. My character was just along for the ride and thought it was funny to pick on someone so feared.

During the course of the adventure I aquired two minor artifacts. The "Red Editing Pen", and "The Script". I went to the cast of character's page in "The Script" and scratched out Durmott Arcane's name, and replaced it with "Mr. Fancy Poo Pants". I then crossed out my name and replaced it with "Durmott Arcane".

From that point on, everyone in the campaign setting was frightened of the dread Mr. Fancy Poo Pants. My character was the only one who remembered what his name used to be, and would crack up whenever anyone mentioned him. The rest of the party thought he was odd.

Ravyn
2007-04-08, 04:22 PM
It depends.

When I'm playing D&D, my weapons don't tend to acquire names unless I dual-wield and need to keep my blades straight--usually because they're pretty generic. If it's named, odds are it's because there was a name on the pommel.

On the other hand, when I'm going Exalted I name all my artifacts--granted, that's usually because I design them myself, but it's the same principle. I'm not sure why; I think it's because it's a thing the setting inspires, and because they feel more... unusual.

My characters, on the other hand, don't tend to come with nicknames--unless you count name shortenings, which've happened two or three times--though they've been known to be given them.

Then again, I try to make up for that by giving my familiars a great deal of personality. My last ferret, for instance, had a bit of a hair-chewing habit, the thrush collects shiny objects and refuses to eat mosquitoes, the hedgehog was a bit fond of spoonfuls of hard cider.... heck, even the last animal companion I designed had his own quirks.

InaVegt
2007-04-08, 04:25 PM
Depends on th character and the weapon, my current character has named his scimitar Snijder (translation would be Cutter or Slicer) and has a docent of which I forgot to write down the name (was part of some treasure we were send), he also has a wand he passionately calls Boemstok (Boomstick)

urodivoi
2007-04-08, 04:48 PM
I Generally thing the Genre calls for magical weapons to be named (at least if they have significant bonus, something more then a simple +1 or +2 enhancement.)

Unfortunately I haven't yet coined a weapon-name that has caught on in my group or added to actual game-play. Having a named weapon that really has character is one of my role-playing goals.

PnP Fan
2007-04-08, 05:02 PM
I don't usually name my weapons or any inanimate objects. But my characters often have a shortening of their name. I often play elves, and then give them a name that is difficult to pronounce, but has a convenient shortening to some english word. Some examples:
Father Joramund: Father "J"
Artemidoras Tanlandryn: "Art" (also "That creepy Aerenal Elf that the children all seem to like.")

Matthew
2007-04-09, 10:57 PM
All of the Magic Weapons with more powerful enchantments than +1 get an associated history and some sort of name in my homebrewed campaign and many of the +1 Weapons. Basically, I stole that idea wholesale out of Baldur's Gate because I found the idea so cool and had failed to implement it previously. It adds texture to the game and I have often seen it make a difference in how a Player perceives the weapon.

Phoenix Talion
2007-04-09, 11:06 PM
My ranger had a short sword and a scimitar named Tact and Reason, respectively. She lost them at one point, to her great sorrow, and temporarily replaced them with a borrowed quarterstaff that she dubbed Diplomacy.

Goff
2007-04-09, 11:22 PM
Nuturion, my elven rogue (see avatar) has a legacy weapon rapier based around light and shadow. It's called Shadowspark, I like it.

Tharivol123
2007-04-09, 11:30 PM
I've named a few.
My elf ranger had a longsword named Night Blade and a bow named Night Blossom, both based on the translation of his family name (Nightblossom).
My barbarian, Ung, only spoke a few words of common, namely "Ung smash," with various voice inflections giving the two words different meanings. The party named his great-axe UngSmash in honor of him after his death.
I also gained a nickname based on an embarassing incident: Sir Lynx the Bald, after I failed to disarm a firetrap.

Artemician
2007-04-10, 04:33 AM
No magic items have been given names in any of the campaigns that I take part in, but my Bard/Assassin's 400 ft Sonic Lance Death Attacks have gotten quite a reputation.

He calls it... the SEHShot.

Edo
2007-04-10, 05:17 AM
I've named only one weapon in my life.

This was because it was a legacy weapon, and I designed it myself.

(It's a caster-free setting. Legacy weapons are a lot more viable when there really isn't any other way to get a +5 weapon.)

Reinboom
2007-04-10, 05:49 AM
Well, I once read in another website about Sir Cedric the Womanizer...

As in King Cedric (of the eventual Curwen line, later marked Corwin) of the West Saxons, who first united England?
If so, I bury you in the shame of my ancestors!


I am currently in a game where every weapon my character becomes in possession of gets named Rein. Especially ally's. Kinda funny how that works.

Kiero
2007-04-10, 06:04 AM
I generally don't like magic weapons.

EvilDave
2007-04-10, 10:03 AM
Bron, Hurter of Things, wields a +1 Keen Huge Deep Crystal Falchion as a, technically, Medium sized character. It telepathically mutters but is not actually intelligent (if you hear something coherent from it, that's your problem not its). In two more levels I'll be able to augment Expansion so it will be Colossal.

I think I'm going to call it Tact.

Narmoth
2007-04-10, 11:28 AM
I name only inteligent magical items and one of a kind-magical items, like custom staffs.
For swords: "Trouser Titan" for any +1 short sword would be great

Brauron
2007-04-10, 12:18 PM
The event immortalized in my sig earned my barbarian's great axe the name "Skullcruncher."

He also has a glaive named "Bearslicer."

Hunter Noventa
2007-04-10, 12:45 PM
Our artifcier recently put a very special command word ability on our wizard's staff. It can now cast a 5-missile magic missle as many times as he can say the word.

What is the word? "Macross"

Merlin the Tuna
2007-04-10, 12:53 PM
Wow. Naming weapons is always one of those things that has struck me as so ridiculous that it's almost self-deprecating to do so. For every Excalibur, there's a baker's dozen of Twinkles and [body part][violent word]s (Skullcrusher, Brainmasher, Heartstriker, Neckpiercer, and so on). Odds are the name is going to either be the source of ridicule within the game (http://lfgcomic.com/page/15), if not from outside. (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/05/19)

Dragor
2007-04-10, 01:05 PM
Wow. Naming weapons is always one of those things that has struck me as so ridiculous that it's almost self-deprecating to do so. For every Excalibur, there's a baker's dozen of Twinkles and [body part][violent word]s (Skullcrusher, Brainmasher, Heartstriker, Neckpiercer, and so on). Odds are the name is going to either be the source of ridicule within the game (http://lfgcomic.com/page/15), if not from outside. (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/05/19)

Not so. It's only if you give it such a truly cliche name that it's ridiculed. Give it something amusing/appropriate and it's fine.

silentknight
2007-04-10, 01:16 PM
My halfling rogue/duelist named his weapon of choice. In fact, he references it every time he introduces himself.

"Fear me evildoers! For I am Milo the Minstrel and this is my rapier Witt!"

I have actually thought about making every weapon in my campaign unique by giving it a name and brief history, but that particular task seems a little onerous for a casual game.

Who
2007-04-10, 01:52 PM
I generally don't like magic weapons.

Well how do your chatacters survive with out magic weapons?

Amphimir Míriel
2007-04-10, 04:01 PM
Although a friend has a huge-sized heavy crossbow I call Piecemaker, after the crossbow wielded by Detritus in the Discworld novels.

the Piecemaker was actually a Ballista taken from it's base... And it is a weapon made of awesome


Anyway when I join a game, and I get a powerful weapon, I'll name it Reason, as a reference to Snow Crash.


My ranger had a short sword and a scimitar named Tact and Reason, respectively. She lost them at one point, to her great sorrow, and temporarily replaced them with a borrowed quarterstaff that she dubbed Diplomacy.

Darn, you guys beat me to the same idea... I was thinking of rolling up a paladin whose sword and shield would be named "patience" and "understanding" as in: "The best way to deal with infidels is with patience and understanding"

Tyrael
2007-04-10, 04:43 PM
As seen in my avatar, I've got a 7'4 Lizardfolk with a 10-foot-long Greathammer called the "Boomstick", who hollers "BOOM!" before he swings it, ala the Boomers in Gears of War. He's also got a big ball and chain, Zelda-style, that I have yet to name. Any ideas?

Pocket lint
2007-04-10, 04:57 PM
My Dervish has a +1 flaming scimitar, that I'm considering naming Red Cloak (he turns the flames on and goes spinnaroo... looks like a cloak of flame around him). We're fighting a lot of demons right now, so I'm hoping to find a Holy scimitar too. Not sure what I'll be naming that one though.

Kiero
2007-04-10, 05:51 PM
Well how do your chatacters survive with out magic weapons?

I don't play D&D 3.5. Back when I did play D&D, it was AD&D2e, and you didn't need magic weapons.

silentknight
2007-04-10, 05:57 PM
Didn't need magic weapons...

You must have played a different 2e AD&D then I did. You always need magic weapons in D&D, no matter what edition you play. At least that's what I believe.

Kiero
2007-04-10, 06:00 PM
Didn't need magic weapons...

You must have played a different 2e AD&D then I did. You always need magic weapons in D&D, no matter what edition you play. At least that's what I believe.

Not in any games I ran or played in between 1992 and 1995. But then we didn't need "balanced" parties covering all the niches either. Nor did we play dungeon crawls or official modules. Nor was alignment something we really bothered with.

The more I learn about how other people play D&D, the more I see my games of old were far from the norm.

Cocktail Umbrellas
2007-04-10, 06:53 PM
My character hasn't named any of her weapons, but she did come accross a named one. A spear called Lethidred.
It's probably magical, but she really don't know or understand how it works just yet.

Phoenix Talion
2007-04-10, 11:19 PM
Darn, you guys beat me to the same idea... I was thinking of rolling up a paladin whose sword and shield would be named "patience" and "understanding" as in: "The best way to deal with infidels is with patience and understanding"

That's right, and all problems can be solved with tact and reason.

clarkvalentine
2007-04-10, 11:25 PM
Absolutely. My duelist's rapier was Celeritas, literally "Swiftness" in the pseudo-Latin that was the game world's classical language. In a Dragonlance campaign, my dwarven PC's ancestral sword (a +5 keen longsword) was Thaneguard, sword of the personal guard of dwarven kings for centuries.

Viscount Einstrauss
2007-04-11, 12:52 AM
Yeah, it's not that hard to make a good sounding weapon name so long as you aren't trying to be over-the-top epic about it. Just keep it relatively simple and easy to remember. Some of the most epic names are rather simple in design.

Mewtarthio
2007-04-11, 01:14 AM
Pseudo-Latin's good (that's nothing like Pig Latin, by the way). If you can find something nice-sounding off a random syllable generator, that also works. Just don't pick any over-the-top "killing people"-style names (Orcstabber, Halflingdefenestrator, Stahb & M'Pael, etc) unless you're making a joke about how humorless and direct (http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=040621) the weapon is.

Reinboom
2007-04-11, 01:36 AM
Pseudo-Latin's good (that's nothing like Pig Latin, by the way).

Great idea!
The next whip I'm making is going to definately be Suadolor

Phoenix Talion
2007-04-11, 01:53 AM
Great idea!
The next whip I'm making is going to definately be Suadolor

*tilts*
Pain giver?

I know dolor is pain, anyway.

Matthew
2007-04-11, 12:47 PM
Not in any games I ran or played in between 1992 and 1995. But then we didn't need "balanced" parties covering all the niches either. Nor did we play dungeon crawls or official modules. Nor was alignment something we really bothered with.

The more I learn about how other people play D&D, the more I see my games of old were far from the norm.
Not that abnormal, I can assure you. Play style varies from group to group and that was evident in the Dragon Magazine Articles and Letters during the early nineties. It sounds like our group played very similarly to how you did (there was some magic gear, but not much) and I know that there are others for whom this was the main kind of play experience. All styles are valid as long as you have fun, though.

Jayabalard
2007-04-11, 12:56 PM
Definitely the best name for a magic sword is Irving...

silentknight
2007-04-11, 06:29 PM
Names I have actually used for magic weapons:

Spellreaver- magic nullifying longsword.
Halfirien- longsword, was going for a Tolkienesque name.
Foecrusher- waraxe that turned a gnome into a dwarf.
Mordrisil- vampiric greatsword.

ExHunterEmerald
2007-04-11, 06:49 PM
My paladin (Fax's variant) has a greatsword +1 (at the moment) called World of Miracles, from a Blind Guardian song that I thought fit him.
My rogue Terrence Randall never named his rapier, but he did get a merciful enhancement after he was forced to kill his rapidly-evil-ifying mentor Soren. He made the trigger to activate the merciful enhancement "For Soren."

CaptainSam
2007-04-11, 07:04 PM
Nicknames just settle on my group's characters, like dandruff. We have:

Sigmund "I am not a Harper" Hendryks, the bard
Fost "I am not a thief" Longstrider, the rogue
Tannar "Hard as nuts", the fighter
and "Swampy the swamp-elf "I'm just a bit green"", the wizard (he does have a name, but we can't remember it)

As you can no doubt tell, these aren't so much names as commonly used phrases by the characters.

sigmund does have a +1 flaming whip calles "Ping", which is coincidentally the activation word. makes life easier for him. Oh, and Fost has a hand-crossbow called "Wynona" (the player's a Farscape fan, if you couldn't tell)

InfiniteMiller
2007-04-11, 10:31 PM
My current paladin has a mundane ancestral shield named for his family name, Whitehand. Not so much useful as a souvenir.

Heh, the first character I made was a halfling rogue whose party was landed in an orcish prison very early in there career. After the first time the orcs brought us our food on clay plates, I smashed one on the stone wall and used the most optimum shard as an improvised shiv. After using it to sneak attack the next guard, thus facilitating our escape, I nicknamed the shard "Terra Cutta".

That halfling sure liked his lame puns.

silentknight
2007-04-12, 01:09 PM
Some others...

Blackrune- a shortspear with black runes on it.
Gorunn the "Iron Bear"- greatsword that doubles damage on a charge.
Canamriel- not a weapon but a bracer/glove combo that gives bonuses to Climb, Disable Device, and Open Lock.

Diggorian
2007-04-12, 01:27 PM
I always name favorite weapons.

My avatar character, Noriyuk the Clanless, is wielding Odirmi (read: OH-DEAR-ME), a mastercraft bastard sword that is +2 to confirm crits and has a custom scabberd that gives me a +2 shield bonus when in the offhand. His greatsword is too new to have earned it's name, the shortsword and warhammer used too seldomly.

My Aasimar cleric/paladin Corrain Celesse had a +1 longsword Justice Harbinger and heirloom greatsword Celesse's Edge. Sea Ranger Gregarian dual-wielded two shortswords, Gale and Zephyr.

I name my cars IRL too.

Phoenix Talion
2007-04-12, 02:26 PM
If I ever have a character with a battleaxe or greatsword, I'm naming it Subtlety.

Viscount Einstrauss
2007-04-12, 02:33 PM
A decent joke from a high school play I recall-
"Ha! I shall call my sword Fluffy!"
"Hey, that name doesn't strike terror at all!"
"Yeah? Well how much honor are you going to have after you've been beaten by a sword named Fluffy?"

ExHunterEmerald
2007-04-12, 03:26 PM
I name my cars IRL too.
Sagan. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_sagan) You?

Khoran
2007-04-12, 03:35 PM
I've never actually named my weapon with any of my characters, but I once did have a fighter that called his Greatsword "old friend" which is close, I guess.

Elven Paladin
2007-04-12, 06:10 PM
My current character, a paladin, wields a scimitar named "Aephraen." It originally belonged to a ranger, the only other party member, who fell against a deinonychus. My character only learned of his death after finding the scimitar by the dinosaur's corpse. He fell to his knees and as he prayed to Heironeous, his patron deity, I turned and asked my friend, who had been playing the ranger, "I'm going to name my new scimitar after your ranger, so what is it?" I thought I had just forgotten his name because of the game being relatively new...but I was wrong. He didn't have a name yet.

It was kind of funny watching him squirm before he came up with Aephraen.

Diggorian
2007-04-12, 06:36 PM
Sagan. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_sagan) You?

Uh ... no ... I'm not Carl Sagan. Contact is my favorite movie though. :smallcool: What are you trying to say here?

Other named weapon-friends:

Moradin's Might was a dwarven warhammer used by my highest level PC, Dwarf cleric Emoadan Talcium. It gained an +1 enhancement for every four levels I reached, plus some divine magic ability every level after 8th.

2nd Ed. half-elf swashbuckler Aero Flynton (yeah, corny) fought with a rapier named Cutting Comment and a main gauche dagger Ribald Reply.

Far Fletched, was a +2 composite Longbow of Distance ... I even forgot the character's name. :smallbiggrin:

ExHunterEmerald
2007-04-12, 10:13 PM
Uh ... no ... I'm not Carl Sagan. Contact is my favorite movie though. :smallcool: What are you trying to say here?

What I named my car. What did you name yours?

Diggorian
2007-04-12, 10:53 PM
What I named my car. What did you name yours?

Ah. The '81 Cadillac I inherited was christened "Sweet Sadie", from the old R&B song. The Honda Accord I drive now is "Nia" for actress Nia Long (http://perso.orange.fr/vincent.mathieu/Images/nia30.jpg).

Vehicles are feminine to me, essential companions. Weapons are male, we share a professional/buddy relationship.

Jade_Tarem
2007-04-13, 12:38 AM
Weapons in my game are named if their powers can't be described without a term from the ELH (i.e. epic weapons). So far there have been exactly two in all my campaigns put together. Or if they're intelligent, which to my knowlege hasn't happened at all recently in any game I've been in. Here are the two epic weapons:

Blizzardswift

+4 / Frost Blast / Speed / Crystalline (made-up: it went through all materials-based DR) / Keen / Longsword.

Armageddon Reaper

+3 / Fire Blast / Holy Power / Keen / Starmetal / Glaive